From the moment she could read, Christine Rains was never without a book. She was drawn the to horror genre at at young age and was always the kid that would investigate what goes bump in the night rather than hide from it. When she was ten, she read her first Stephen King novel and she has been a big fan ever since.  At first, it was about the creep factor and the stories.  These days, she admires King for his characterization and world building. Christine wrote a lot of horror stories, but through her years at university, she began to stretch out into the worlds of fantasy and science-fiction.  Her favorite authors include George R.R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Douglas Adams.  Her writing slipped from strictly horror to dark fantasy.  Even then, she delved further and she discovered a great storyteller in Jacqueline Carey with her book, Kushiel's Dart.  The incredible writing and sensuality of Carey's books drew Christine to a new genre: paranormal romance.  She had found her niche. Christine is a huge fan of paranormal romances and urban fantasy.  Some of her favorite authors are Christine Feehan, Yasmine Galenorn, Gena Showalter, Anton Strout, and Jim Butcher.  Her first novel, The Deep Dim, is a paranormal romance unique in its genre. She was inspired to write a surreal story that swept up the reader as if they were having a vivid dream.  Her other novels can be said to be more mainstream in the genre, but the characters are incredibly original. Christine does not like to write the bumbling hero or the beauty that is in need of rescue. Her protagonists are strong women who take care of their own problems and just might happen to fall in love along the way! Christine's also has a fantasy romance, Banished, co-written with Ciaran Corby, and it has gotten great reviews.  She has five short stories published and three forthcoming.